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Sunday, April 15, 2012

The Tax Refund Party: Strawberry Whoopie Pies

I have long believed that any worthwhile gathering should have some sort of whoopie pie (to go with your cupcake options). I've previously made these in traditional whoopie pie and red velvet whoopie pie form. For my tax refund baking bonanza, I was going to have to take things to a whole new level with the power of strawberries. Would I do Rick Moranis proud, or would my ridiculously large cookie fall flat?

Let the bottoms crisp up on the baking sheet for 2 minutes then transfer to wire racks to cool.

Make the filling by creaming the butter then adding the cream cheese until it's light and fluffy. Add the strawberries, salt and almond extract and incorporate well then gradually mix in the powdered sugar.

Assemble the whoopie pies by scooping on absurd amounts of frosting and sandwiching it between two cookies.

Let chill in the fridge for at least an hour before serving to maximize awesomeness.

My third attempt at reaching the giant cream filled cookie nirvana seen in Honey I Shrunk the Kids was by far the best yet. The cookies came out much thicker this time thanks to actually laying down ice cream scoops to better replicate the chunks of heaven served up by SusieCakes Bakery in L.A. (I have to make sure to get a hold of these and some Marble Cake the next time I'm visiting my sister). Although the chocolatey cookies were incredible on their own, the unbelievable strawberry filling really made them shine. Robin did a fantastic job pinpointing the perfect amount of strawberry for the filling, and it went surprisingly nicely with the hint of almond extract. The only problem is that you quickly become tempted to pull an oreo and just start eating the filling (for your jaw's sake you should avoid the oreo game of combining the filling of multiple cookies to form one mega cookie). Make sure you chill these first because the cold frosting really brings out the flavor. As mouthwateringly delectable as the fiery red hot red velvet cupcakes were, I think these whoopie pies won the night.

Dr. Omar contemplates the medical ramifications of what he's about to attempt (and the fame he's about to achieve. Sorry ladies, he's married.). In the end, he renounced the medical profession to spend his life eating cookies.